Pregnancy

When I read this news 2 years back, I thought to share about ancient practice.

This, hospital based birth system, was sold to us in name better clean environment, better facility and all medical jargon stuff. Now situation is such that no one in India will believe that ‘Home based birth’ was the only norm in India since time immemorial. I am sure, it was same across the world, in all cultures (midwifery).

New mother was called सूतिका. Her room was called सूतिकागृह. No one was permitted in this room for at least 1 month and 10 days. It is called सूतिका काल. Sutika kala is a period begins after expulsion of placenta. This period is of happiness & contentment, on one hand and physical & mental fatigue due to delivery, on the other hand, she become weak or emaciated after loss of blood and body fluid during delivery. So only धात्री (The caretaker) Who is mostly mother of the सूतिका and other helping hand was allowed. No one else. Period. This continues for 3 months. It is called वृध्धि सूतक. This was norm 50 years back before arrival of modern hospitals.

वृध्धि सूतक was needed for well being of mother and child. It helps child’s focused growth and mother’s rapid recovery. No one follows it any more 🙁 (Now newborns are exposed to camera flashes and cacophony of hospitals).

Now the news comes from UK that they started prefering home based birth. Good, at least somewhere, wise policies are made.

May we soon mimic the lost art of Sutika care which we should have not lost at first place. 🙁(Y)

Side note: ‘Hospital acquired infection led death’ is very significant number. Google to know more.

Research News

Low-risk pregnant women urged to avoid hospital births

NHS guidance from National Institute for Health and Care Excellence suggests 45% of births ‘unsuitable’ for labour wards

Women with low-risk pregnancies are to be encouraged to have non-hospital births under new NHS guidelines, which could see almost half of mothers-to-be planning to deliver their baby away from traditional labour wards.

Guidance from National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) says that midwife-led care has been shown to be safer for women and recommends that all women with low-risk pregnancies – 45% of the total – should be advised that giving birth in a midwifery-led unit, whether attached to a hospital or not, is “particularly suitable”.

The changes, published on Wednesday , have been made because women who give birth under midwife-led care have less chance of being asked to undergo medical interventions such as episiotomies, caesareans and use of forceps or ventouse.

When you ask newly wedded couples to take care of these things, they often show their arrogance of foolishness and say: “I don’t care. My life, my style!”

🙁

For last decade, I suggest all married young couple to take care of life before it is conceptualized. From diet, sleep to utilities, married life demands critical care. But hardly anyone listen. 🙁

Everyone is in cloud 9 of modernity. 🙁

Expectant mothers in their first trimester should avoid certain cosmetics, cleaning agents and medicines, to protect the developing fetal brain from chemicals that can trigger autism, York U health researchers have found.

The list is long: cleaning solvents, pesticides, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as acetylsalicylic acid; misoprostol (a drug used for inducing labor); polychlorinated bisphenyls used as industrial lubricants; polybrominated diphenyl ethers found in wood and textiles; phthalates in PVC flooring, children’s toys, and cosmetics and lotions.

York U researchers list products expectant mothers should avoid during first trimester

=================
Part 1 Diet regime for children and pregnancy
=================

Some facts from cultural practices related to pregnancy and childhood care.

1) There is an Ayurvedic sutra which prescribes 4 types of rice preparation for pregnant women. Out of which, curd-rice is considered the best. It is said that, if Garbhini eats curd-rice daily, the child will develop unimagined Medha buddhi (intellect) which is enough to understand and realize all 4 Veda(s) (Mind you: To realize even 1 hymn of Veda is super hard work for ordinary minds like us).
2) In last three months of pregnancy, Ayurveda prescribes increased amount of ghee. This is the same time when neural development, neuron network development happens in brain at highly rapid speed.
3) For child below age7, ghee and honey are most important food items. Needless to maintain chaas (butter milk) and Curd (dahi). This is the also highly active brain development period.
Dahi, butter milk, Ghee, Honey – They all are carrier of healthy bacteria. They all are in fact full of healthy bacteria. They are full of prana Shakti which can help healthy bacteria to establish in Gut.
Now, let us understand latest research findings.

=================
Part 2 Blood–brain barrier & GUT
=================

Gut and Brain barrier

The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is a highly selective permeability barrier that separates the circulating blood from the brain extracellular fluid (BECF) in the central nervous system (CNS).

The findings suggest that a woman’s diet or exposure to antibiotics during pregnancy may influence the development of this barrier.

The blood–brain barrier may prevent the entry of lipophilic, potential neurotoxins by way of an active transport mechanism mediated by P-glycoprotein and allows only water, some gases, and lipid soluble molecules by passive diffusion, as well as the selective transport of molecules such as glucose and amino acids that are crucial to neural function.

Germ-free mice even have leaky blood-brain barriers as adults. But those leaks closed after the researchers gave the animals the microbes from normal mice for 2 weeks, Pettersson says.

In short, it is most critical filter designed by Mother Nature. Better the barrier, less chances of impaired brain development.

As per latest research [1], healthy gut bacteria repairs leaks in BBB and protects brain from all outside toxins.

Now re-read part 1 and draw your conclusion.

Ghee, Dahi, Milk, Chass, Honey in diet of pregnant mother, lactating mother and child -> Healthy GUT -> Better BBB -> Healthy brain development for a child.
Conclusion: Without Gau mata, it is impossible to imagine citizens of future with adequate abilities to live self-reliant life.

Concluding thoughts and hints for future research:

• For the future of our children, find Gau shala nearby and start worshipping gau mata (Take care of her. Do her seva)
• Use only her Prasad (Milk, ghee, Dahi, gobar, mutra) in diet. This exclude dairy products. Dairy is a greatest sin of our society.
• Provide pure Ghee, Dahi, Milk, Chass, Honey to all pregnant mothers in our society. There is no great charity than this in my humble opinion.
• Just for your reference, I have witnessed my friend curing several brain disorders (Headache, migraine, Epilepsy) cases by Gau ghee based medicines. Doctors should use this treatment to cure Epilepsy & Meningitis which are now common among children age below 5.
• Avoid Antibiotics. If not avoidable in extreme situation, take jaggery water / dahi / ghee in diet during antibiotic course.

Supporting Research

Body’s bacteria may keep our brains healthy

The microbes that live in your body outnumber your cells 10 to one. Recent studies suggest these tiny organisms help us digest food and maintain our immune system. Now, researchers have discovered yet another way microbes keep us healthy: They are needed for closing the blood-brain barrier, a molecular fence that shuts out pathogens and molecules that could harm the brain.

The studies showed that the blood-brain barrier typically forms a tight seal a little more than 17 days into development. Antibodies infiltrated the brains of all the embryos younger than 17 days, but they continued to enter the brains of embryos of germ-free mothers well beyond day 17, the team reports online today in Science Translational Medicine. Embryos from germ-free mothers also had fewer intact gap junction proteins, and gap junction protein genes in their brains were less active, which may explain the persistent leakiness. (The researchers didn’t look at the mice’s guts.)

Germ-free mice even have leaky blood-brain barriers as adults. But those leaks closed after the researchers gave the animals the microbes from normal mice for 2 weeks, Pettersson says.

But how? In the gut, bacteria may influence the gut wall’s integrity through one of their byproducts, energy-laden molecules called short-chain fatty acids. So Pettersson and his colleagues infected germ-free mice with either bacteria that made these fatty acids or ones that did not. The blood-brain barrier improved only when the bacteria made these fatty acids, Pettersson says. He thinks that these molecules may get into the blood and stimulate gene activity that leads to the closure of the barrier.

Pivotal to brain development and function is an intact blood-brain barrier (BBB), which acts as a gatekeeper to control the passage and exchange of molecules and nutrients between the circulatory system and the brain parenchyma. The BBB also ensures homeostasis of the central nervous system (CNS). We report that germ-free mice, beginning with intrauterine life, displayed increased BBB permeability compared to pathogen-free mice with a normal gut flora. The increased BBB permeability was maintained in germ-free mice after birth and during adulthood and was associated with reduced expression of the tight junction proteins occludin and claudin-5, which are known to regulate barrier function in endothelial tissues. Exposure of germ-free adult mice to a pathogen-free gut microbiota decreased BBB permeability and up-regulated the expression of tight junction proteins. Our results suggest that gut microbiota–BBB communication is initiated during gestation and propagated throughout life.

Third month onward, mother will start craving for different things, not limited to food items. It is job of a husband and family members to take care of them as long as they are safe for both mother and child. These cravings are from both mother and child.

Remember, being parent, you are mere instrumental in the wheel of creation. 🙂

Here is a wonderful research showing how fetus in the womb drives mother’s health, moods and emotions. Child in womb in fact take care of mother’s health!! Protects her!!

Dramatic research has shown that during pregnancy, cells of the fetus often migrate through the placenta, taking up residence in many areas of the mother’s body, where their influence may benefit or undermine maternal health.

The presence of fetal cells in maternal tissue is known as fetal microchimerism. The term alludes to the chimeras of ancient Greek myth–composite creatures built from different animal parts, like the goat-lion-serpent depicted in an Etruscan bronze sculpture.

“Fetal cells can act as stem cells and develop into epithelial cells, specialized heart cells, liver cells and so forth. This shows that they are very dynamic and play a huge role in the maternal body. They can even migrate to the brain and differentiate into neurons,” Boddy says “We are all chimeras.”

Fetal cells may do more than simply migrate to maternal tissues. The authors suggest they can act as a sort of placenta outside the womb, redirecting essential assets from the maternal body to the developing fetus. Cells derived from the fetus–which can persist in maternal tissues for decades after a child is born–have been associated with both protection and increased susceptibility to a range of afflictions, including cancer and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.

Take care all would-be parents!! And never life under delusion that you actually have control over your life! We all, all lifeforms are connected and we are here to help each other!! 🙂

Research

Fetal cells influence mom’s health during pregnancy — and long after

Dramatic research has shown that during pregnancy, cells of the fetus often migrate through the placenta, taking up residence in many areas of the mother’s body, where their influence may benefit or undermine maternal health. Photo by: Jason Drees/Biodesign Institute

Mother’s little helpers?

Although fetal microchimerism is a common occurrence across placental mammals (including humans), the effects of such cells on maternal health remain a topic of fierce debate in the biological community.

In research appearing in the advanced online edition of the journal Bioessays, Boddy and her colleagues review the available literature on fetal microchimerism and human health, applying an evolutionary framework to predict when fetal cells are inclined to act cooperatively to enhance maternal health and when their behavior is likely to be competitive, occasionally leading to adverse effects on the mother.

Fetal cells may do more than simply migrate to maternal tissues. The authors suggest they can act as a sort of placenta outside the womb, redirecting essential assets from the maternal body to the developing fetus. Cells derived from the fetus — which can persist in maternal tissues for decades after a child is born — have been associated with both protection and increased susceptibility to a range of afflictions, including cancer and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.